Pillow Talk
by Zip Goes A Million
Summary: A selection of one-shots each occurring in different universes, which all revolve around Sybil and Tom talking in bed. Later chapters may reach T rating.
1. Perfect Together

_I'm writing this fic as a series of one-shots. Each "chapter" will be a little one-shot from different universes. Some of them may be just a few hundred words and some may be a few thousand. Each little chapter is a one-shot in itself, so you don't need to read every chapter by any means. Pick and choose the ones that take your fancy. Read them out of order. If there's a little one-shot you'd like that would fit into this Pillow Talk series, send me a message and I'll see what I can do. I'm writing this for fun and to make people smile, so I'm open to any ideas. I hope you enjoy reading this, and if you can spare a moment, please review any of the chapter you read._

* * *

As Sybil crawled into bed after a long day at the hospital Tom pulled her close to him. She gently rested her head on Tom's shoulder and settled her arm over his chest.

"You've been quiet this evening, Syb. Is everything alright?" Tom asked softly.

"It's just been a long day. Nothing went wrong, but everything went so slowly," she replied, shuffling closer to her boyfriend.

"I love you, Sybil. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Sybil gently trailed her fingers over Tom's chest, feeling the soft cotton of his shirt beneath her fingers. She traced the words _I love you_ over his chest and then leant up to kiss his cheek softly.

Tom shifted so that the two of them were lying on their sides, facing each other. He lightly kissed Sybil's lips and entwined her fingers with his.

As Sybil squeezed Tom's hand she said, "How was your day?"

"Quite normal," he said. "I finished that article I was writing about university tuition fees. I had lunch with Gwen and Marcus, as per. Oh, and Sophie flirted with me again."

"She's still trying?" Sybil asked, shocked. "She's persistent – you've got to admit that!"

"I love that you've never been worried about her," Tom said.

"How could I be? She's met us together. She admitted to my face that you and I were made for each other," Sybil remembered. "And besides, I know I can trust you," she said softly. She kissed him fully on the lips and pressed her body against his.

"I love you, a mhuirnín," Tom said softly.

"I love you, sweetheart," Sybil replied.

This is all that mattered right now. Lying in bed and feeling the heat from one another. Just existing together was better than either of them could have ever imagined.


	2. Hammock

It was a beautifully sunny Saturday afternoon and Tom was spending his day with Sybil. They'd spent the morning walking through the woods together surrounded by the peace of nature. They had expected the woods to be teeming with families, but they only came across a few groups of people. Everyone else must have gone to the parks or to the big fields nearby. It was nice to be strolling down the path with no one else around, though. The sunlight squeezed its way through the tangle of branches overhead, mottling the ground and shimmering on the river running through the woods. Hand in hand, the walk originally planned to get them out of the house and into the sunlight became a romantic stroll, with the rush of the river and the singing of the birds providing the backing track to their love. Even as Sybil slipped and fell down the small bank into the river, landing on her backside, the water lapping around her legs, she couldn't help but laugh. Almost without hesitation Tom stepped forward to offer a helping hand which Sybil accepted gratefully. As Sybil climbed up the bank, her pale blue sun dress clung to her legs. It was at this point that they decided to turn back home.

As soon as the couple returned to Sybil's house, they kicked off their shoes (Sybil's were then balanced on the radiator to help them dry out) and agreed that Sybil would have a shower and then meet Tom in the garden afterwards.

Twenty minutes later, Sybil walked into her garden, now dressed in a pair of red shorts and a plain grey tank top, to find that Tom had unearthed the hammock from the garden shed and tied it to two large trees.

"Hey stranger," Sybil called as she walked up the garden towards Tom. When he didn't answer, she said, "Hey, what're you doing?" Still no answer. She walked around the hammock to find Tom with his eyes closed and breathing deeply. The warmth of the afternoon sun had obviously caused Tom to doze off mid-afternoon. Sybil sat on the hammock next to him and it swung against her weight.

"Hmm," Tom muttered. The movement of the hammock had stirred him.

"Hey, love. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Sybil apologised, swinging her legs over the edge of the hammock.

Tom moved to one side so that Sybil had more space to lie next to him. "C'mere, gorgeous," he said deeply, his Irish accent thicker than usual.

They both wriggled to be closer to one another and tangled their limbs together, fingers and toes getting caught in the waffle rope hammock. Sybil nestled into the crook of Tom's arm and reached across him to grab his spare hand, pulling it back over his torso and locking their fingers together. Tom kissed the top of Sybil's head and traced patterns on her skin.

"I love you Syb," he said quietly.

"Love you more," Sybil replied.

"Not possible," Tom said.

"I wish we could stay here forever," Sybil commented.

"All we can do is make the most of the good weather while it stays."

"I don't just mean the weather," Sybil said softly. "I mean being with you. These are the moments that I love about us. The time when we can be together and not have to worry about work or family or anything. Just the two of us together. You know, when it feels like the whole world is stood still and nothing matters but us."

"Mmm," Tom muttered.

"That's what I cherish about being with you, Tom. That's what matters."

"I love you more than you know," he whispered to her, twisting her hair around his fingers.

Sybil shifted her weight and leant up to kiss him. His stubble scratched at her soft skin and made her smile behind the kiss.

"You're gorgeous," Tom said, his eyes locked on hers.

"You're handsome."

"You're beautiful."

"You're charming."

"You're the love of my life, Syb," Tom breathed. He kissed her once more and pulled her into him. Nothing was ever going to stop them from being together.

* * *

 _I really should have been working instead of writing this, but I needed a bit of light relief. I've been feeling the feels for Sybil and Tom recently, so I finally had the motivation, time and inspiration to write something. Please review if you liked it._


	3. Night Shift, Day Shift

_So I haven't even read through this since typing it, so sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes. They're all entirely my own fault. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this addition to Pillow Talk._

* * *

It was a wonderfully warm morning in May. At 7:30, Tom was beginning to wake up with the help of a cup of coffee. Usually Tom would try to persuade Sybil to make the morning coffee and Sybil would then try to persuade Tom to do the same. Usually it was Tom who lost the argument. But today, Tom didn't even get a chance to use his persuasion techniques. Nor had he for three mornings in a row now.

For three nights, Sybil had been doing a run of night shifts. Most of Sybil colleagues complained about doing night shifts, but Sybil never did; at least, not usually. It could be difficult being completely out of sync with the rest of the country, but Sybil preferred the atmosphere of the hospital at night to during the day. It was calmer and always more hushed. Never silent, though. There was always something happening; patients snoring; nurses whispering; doctors shuffling through the corridors like an old, ever-present ghost. A lot of Sybil's colleagues couldn't stand night shifts. They found that the hospital was always more eerie and more empty – even in the accident and emergency ward. Sybil preferred it because it gave her time to think. Everything always seemed rushed in the day, but not so much at night. On night shifts she had time to breathe and take everything in.

Not that it made much difference when she finally got home again. Twelve hour night shift or twelve hour day shift, Sybil couldn't deny that falling into bed and drifting off to sleep always came as welcome relief. It was always nicer to get into bed with Tom falling asleep next to her, but that wasn't an option with night shifts. Usually Sybil was climbing into bed as Tom was climbing out.

And the same thing would be happening today. Sybil walked through her front door with the sun on her back. She completed her almost ritualistic routine. She kicked her shoes off and left them (not particularly neatly) near the shoe rack. She shrugged off her coat and hung it next to Tom's, with her handbag being hung next to her coat. She took out her phone in order to take it upstairs with her to charge it whilst she slept. When she got upstairs she trudged into her bedroom to find her boyfriend sitting up in bed, flicking through BBC News on his phone.

"Hey, love," Tom said affectionately.

"Hi," Sybil said, walking over to give Tom a kiss.

"How was work?" Tom asked.

"Surprisingly uneventful," Sybil said cheerily. "But nice. It was a nice night to be working."

"I'm glad." Tom shuffled out of bed. "I'm going to go and make myself some breakfast; do you want anything?"

"A glass of water would be nice," Sybil said, shrugging off her cardigan.

"Coming right up," Tom said as he started out of the room.

As he walked past Sybil, he was stopped by her arm reaching across his torso. Sybil brought their bodies close, face to face, and said, "I love you."

Tom leant down to kiss Sybil's forehead and said, "I love you, too."

Tom then continued on his journey whilst Sybil finished getting ready for bed. When Tom came back to the bedroom, Sybil was in her pyjamas with cleaned teeth and brushed hair. She had decided to check her emails and social media on her phone before going to sleep.

"Anything interesting happening?" Tom asked.

"Not really. Mary's been posting more photos of her and Matthew's _Luxury Caribbean Honeymoon_ ," Sybil said, mocking the way Mary had been describing the holiday.

"Oh yeah, how's the honeymoon going?" Tom asked, sitting next to Sybil on the bed.

"As far as I can tell, there's lots of sun, great sex and too much sappy romance stuff," Sybil said with a smile.

"Oh come on!" Tom laughed. "If you can't do all that _sappy romance stuff_ on your honeymoon then when can you do it?"

"I suppose," Sybil said with a sigh. "I've just never been good at the romance. You were always better at it than me."

"You're better at other stuff though," Tom said.

"Like what?" Sybil asked indignantly.

"Like sex," Tom said. "And you're more caring than I am, and even if big romantic gestures aren't your thing, you're better at making me feel loved with the little everyday things."

Sybil could feel the corners of her lips curving upwards. Tom was always good at saying the right thing at the right time.

"I love you," she whispered softly.

Sybil then settled down to get some sleep and Tom dressed as quietly as he could so as not to stir his gorgeous girlfriend. Mary and Matthew may have been having a wonderful time on their honeymoon, but Tom's whole world, in all its perfection, was right here.


	4. Massage

_As per, I haven't checked this, so any mistakes are mine and I apologise. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter._

* * *

Sybil and Tom were lying in bed together. Sybil was snuggled into the crook of Tom's arm reading a book, whilst Tom was simply enjoying her presence, stroking the soft skin of her arm and nuzzling his chin in her long, dark curls.

He moved in order to rub his shoulder, and in the process knocked Sybil's book sideways.

"Hey!" Sybil said as she moved to sit up.

"Sorry, love," Tom said. "I didn't mean to knock you."

Sybil frowned, trying to find the page of her book again, but stopped when she noticed Tom's grimace.

"What's wrong?" she asked, no longer worried about saving the place in her book.

He didn't answer, but continued rubbing his shoulder and clearly holding his breath with the pain.

"Tom, what's up?" Sybil persisted.

"I've pulled something I think," he said.

"By doing what?" Sybil asked.

"I have no idea, but it's been making it hard to write much today."

"C'mere," Sybil said, leaving her book and moving behind Tom. "Move forward a bit," she instructed.

"Why?" Tom said.

"Just do it," she said with a loving sigh.

Tom did as he was told and Sybil settled properly behind him. She moved her hands up to his shoulders and began kneading his muscles.

"What are you doing, love?" he asked, but let his head drop to give her more access to his aching muscles.

"I'm massaging your shoulders," she said in a raspy voice. "Unless you aren't enjoying it."

"No, don't stop. You know I love your hands on me," he said.

"And you know I love your back muscles," she said, moving her hands slightly down his back, but still caressing the muscles to loosen them.

"Syb, you don't have to do this."

"But you're in discomfort. How can I let that continue?" she said quietly. "You know, Tom, your muscles are really tight. What have you been doing?"

"I've been working too hard," he said. "And I think my shoulders began hurting when I helped my sister move house last week. The pain just hasn't really gone away since."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sybil said. "I could have done this straight after it happened and then maybe it wouldn't still hurt."

"How did you get so good at it?" Tom asked. "How did I not know that you were so good at getting knots out?"

"You never asked," Sybil shrugged. "And I have no idea how I got good at it. I've just always been good with my hands."

"Mmm, I know," Tom said cheekily.

"Not like that!" Sybil said, swatting Tom's back. "I've always had a talent for loosening muscles. And it always helps that I know what muscles are where and which ones often get tight," she said, referencing her knowledge from her nursing studies.

Her hands were soft, but they worked deep into the muscle, causing Tom to groan in pleasure. Sybil knew which groans were of pain and which were of pleasure from an entirely different activity.

"Sybil," he moaned.

"Yes, love," she said.

"What would I do without you?"

"You'd still have tight muscles and you wouldn't have half as much fun in other ways," she said, whispering the last two words, placing a kiss on the back of his neck, sending a shiver down his back.

"You know how to make a man crave more, don't you?" he said, lost in his thoughts.

"You have no idea," she whispered into his ear, still rubbing his shoulders sensuously. She knew that he was under her influence and that she had full control over him. Tonight was going to be a good night.


	5. Hangover

"Tom," Sybil whispered as she shook him gently by the shoulder. "Tom, wake up."

Tom mumbled something incoherent. His face was firmly buried in his pillow and the duvet rested over him, covering all but his head and bare shoulders.

"Love, you need to get up and go to work," Sybil said sweetly, resting her hand on his arm and nudging gently.

Tom turned in his spot and opened his eyes, only to instantly snap them shut again. He reached his hand up to rub his head.

"Come on," Sybil said, kissing his temple. "It's just a hangover."

Tom's brows knotted together and he breathed in deeply and slowly. Any sudden movements had the potential to cause extreme pain to Tom's head.

"Fecking hell," he muttered.

Sybil quirked an eyebrow, with the corner of her mouth lifting in unison. "You stumbled your way in at about 2 this morning."

"Feck," he repeated. He slowly opened his eyes again to see Sybil sitting beside him on the bed. She was already dressed and looked just as gorgeous as ever. She had one leg hanging off the side of the bed, the other tucked up beneath her. She was leaning back, supporting herself with her elbow digging into her pillow. Tom could only imagine how he looked compared to her. Sybil reached behind her and picked up two tablets and a glass of water. She handed them to Tom.

He reluctantly pushed himself into a sitting position and took them off his wife.

"Take these," she said. "And drink the whole glass of water. You'll feel better afterwards."

"Are you sure about that?" Tom mumbled pessimistically.

"Positive," Sybil said with a knowing smile.

"I don't deserve you," Tom croaked.

Sybil smiled and kissed Tom's cheek.

"I take it last night was good?" she asked.

Tom had spent the evening out for his best friend's birthday. Tom and a few other friends had organised it, though if he had known that he would have to work on the Saturday morning, he never would have organised it for the Friday night.

"I can't remember anything past about nine," Tom muttered.

"You only left here at seven! How much did you drink in the first two hours?" Sybil exclaimed.

"More than I should have," Tom said, beginning to regret some of the choices he had made last night.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Sybil asked.

Tom's face morphed into an expression of disgust, which Sybil took as a 'no'.

"In that case, I'll make you some coffee and you can have a shower."

"Why are you up?" Tom asked as Sybil began to walk away.

"Huh?" Sybil said, turning around to face Tom again.

"You're not working today are you?"

"No, but you were snoring. I had to get up to get away from the endless noise."

"Sorry," Tom said sheepishly.

"It's no matter," Sybil said with a small smile. "Now, up, shower, dressed," she said in a tone that reminded Tom of his mother. Sybil had spent too much time bonding with his family.

"Yes boss," Tom mocked, managing a small smile.

"Don't be cheeky," Sybil called over her shoulder as she began to descend the stairs.

About fifteen minutes later, Tom emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and beads of water covering his torso. He found Sybil lying diagonally across their double bed on her front, flicking through Vogue magazine. As cold as it was outside, it was at least sunny. The sun shone through the window and hit Sybil's body, making her look like a goddess in Tom's eyes.

Tom stood silently in the doorway for a moment, staring at his wife, marvelling at her beauty. Without even noticing, he shifted his weight on his feet, causing the floorboards beneath to squeak.

Sybil turned her head at the noise.

"Feeling any better?" she asked.

"The headache's going and I feel less groggy, but I still don't want to go to work," Tom said.

"Tough luck," Sybil said. She shifted on the bed so that she was sitting on her heels. "It's your fault that you're in this state."

"Thanks for the support, love," Tom said sarcastically, teasing his wife, as he sat on the bed near Sybil.

"It's what I'm here for," she said cheerily.

Sybil moved so that she could kiss Tom's lips more easily. As attractive as he was when he was wearing only a towel below the waist and was covered in water droplets, Sybil didn't particularly want to get wet, but it felt unnatural not to touch Tom when she kissed him, so she threaded her hand through his sodden hair as she locked her lips with his.

"I love you," Tom whispered when they parted.

"I love you, too. But as much as I'd love to stay here with you all day, you have to go to work," Sybil said.

Tom groaned, wishing that he could spend the day with his wife.

Sybil began to get up, but Tom pulled her back to him.

"What?" Sybil said with a chuckle.

"I don't want to go. I want to be with you," he moaned.

"It's only half a day. And I'll still be here when you get back. I promise."

"Fine," Tom sighed, overdramatically.

"The quicker you leave the quicker you can come home," Sybil said as she walked out of the room.

"Yeah, yeah," Tom said, knowing that his wife was right.

Tom was left alone to get dressed, which he did slowly, as he wasn't in a state to do anything quickly. Apart from maybe one thing… but that would have to wait until after work.

* * *

 _This was short and sweet. It's been on my laptop half finished for a while now, and since I was babysitting tonight with no internet access, it gave me a chance to finish it. I hope you enjoyed it!_


	6. New Adventures

_The final day of Sybil x Tom Romance Week is finally here. I hope you like my last installation of Sybil x Tom love._

* * *

Sybil and Tom were lying in bed together, each reading their own books. Sybil was nestled into Tom's side and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders. They had been settled like this for half an hour or so, not talking to each other as they were both focused on the words on the pages in front of them.

They were brought out of their silence by Tom's phone notifying him of a new message on his bedside table.

He put his book down and reached over to grab his phone, careful not to take his arm away from Sybil.

She shifted slightly and looked over to Tom's phone. She felt Tom let out a small quiet laugh against her.

"What's up?" she said.

"Look," he said, showing his phone to his wife.

Sybil looked at the screen to see an image of Tom's sister, Meghan, on her honeymoon. It was an image of her and her new husband sightseeing in Iceland. She had sent the photo, captioned _'We've spent all day exploring Reykjavik. Next step: whale watching!'_ to the Branson family WhatsApp group, which included Tom, his siblings, his mother and most of his cousins (who were more like siblings), aunts and uncles.

"Looks like they're enjoying themselves," Sybil smiled.

"I think they are," Tom said, taking back his phone. "I'd love to go on our honeymoon again."

"It was a good week," Sybil purred.

"The best," Tom replied, kissing the top of Sybil's head.

The two of them had been to Sorrento in Italy for their own honeymoon, almost four years ago.

"We should go back to Italy," Tom said. "It's where our married life started. It will always have a special place in my heart."

"Of course it will," Sybil said. "But I think we should go somewhere else."

"Do you think?"

"I love Italy," Sybil said, "and it will always be important to me. But I want to go somewhere I've never been before. I want to go somewhere exciting, with heaps of culture and things that I've never seen before."

"Like where?" Tom asked.

"Mmm," Sybil mused, "Somewhere like Japan, or somewhere in Africa, or Chile or Costa Rica or something. I just want to go somewhere different."

"This is a new side to you, love," Tom said. "You've never had much wanderlust before."

"I know," Sybil mumbled. "But life's short, and I want to make the most of it. When I was little we went on quite a lot of holidays, but they were always either pretty tame places in Europe, or to America to visit family. Now that I can choose where to go for myself, I want to go somewhere different. It's not urgent, but when we do next decide to go on holiday, I want to choose somewhere more interesting and exotic."

"How much time would we actually spend exploring, though?" Tom said, forgetting about his book as he started tracing patterns on Sybil's bare arm.

"Hey now," Sybil warned, wriggling away from Tom.

"What?" Tom protested. "You were up for it earlier." He began kissing her shoulder and neck in an attempt to entice her.

"When you were too busy working," Sybil pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

"And now I'm not," he said, continuing to caress her soft skin.

"But now I'm not in the mood," Sybil said.

"I'm sure I can get you in the right mood," he said, kissing the dip behind her collarbone.

"Tom," she warned.

"Sybil, love," he whispered seductively.

"Tom," she said again, more sternly. "Not tonight. I don't want to."

Tom sat back and looked at her lovingly.

"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I get the picture."

"I love you," she whispered. "Thank you for not pushing it."

Tom shrugged slightly. "I'm not going to force myself on you if you're not feeling it. What sort of man would that make me?"

"You're perfect," Sybil sighed.

"Oh, I don't know about perfect," Tom berated himself.

"I do," Sybil said, kissing him softly before settling back down to continue reading.

Tom also resettled himself, wrapping one arm around Sybil's shoulder and squeezing her tight.

"I love you," he whispered to her before returning to his book.

Sybil couldn't imagine having a better husband than Tom. He was respectful and kind and not to mention beautiful. She certainly had landed on her feet. She couldn't ask for anything better, for any _one_ better.


	7. Baby Names

"What about Jasmine?" Sybil asked, lying next to her husband in bed.

Well, strictly speaking, she wasn't _in_ bed. It was far too warm, so she was lying on top of the duvet, her husband next to her, also above the covers.

"No way," Tom said, shaking his head. "I got bullied by a girl called Jasmine in primary school."

"You got bullied by a girl?" Sybil asked with a small laugh.

She had known her husband for years, and in all the time she had known him, he had been a headstrong individual who could stand up for himself, no matter who it was against. The idea of him being bullied in any capacity, at any age, by anyone surprised Sybil.

"I was little, okay!" Tom defended. "I haven't always been the ruggedly handsome, politically minded Irishman that you know!"

Sybil laughed gently.

"Okay, what about Emily?"

"I had a great aunt Emily and none of us liked her," Tom said.

The couple were trying to decide on baby names. Sybil was five months pregnant with their first child – a daughter – and they were having one of their many discussions about what to call her. They had yet to find a name that they both loved.

"Why is this so difficult?" Sybil moaned, turning on her side and leaning on her elbow, propping her head up with her hand as she looked at her husband.

"All of your favourite names, I won't name a child because I associate those names with people I don't like, and vice versa. We don't seem to be able to find any mutual likes," Tom explained. "What about Alice?"

"It's a possibility," Sybil said after thinking for a few seconds.

"You don't sound so sure," Tom noted.

"I don't know," Sybil huffed. "It just doesn't jump out at me. I need a name that I really love if I'm going to be saying it for the rest of my life." She paused. "We haven't talked much about Irish names. Is there anything from your neck of the woods that you like?"

"I like Saoirse, but my sister's planning on naming her baby Saoirse, so that's out of the question."

"Oh yeah, how's she getting on? She's due soon isn't she?" Sybil asked.

"Due next Friday," Tom said. "I think she wants to get it over with now. She's fed up of being pregnant, especially in this heat."

"I can understand that," Sybil said sympathetically.

"I quite like Carlin," Tom said.

Sybil scrunched her nose and shook her head. "I think that's too likely to get shortened to Carly, which I hate."

"Rori with an 'i'?" Tom suggested.

"I like that," Sybil hummed to herself quietly. "What do you think about that as a middle name?"

"It certainly works with Branson, but I suppose it depends on the first name as well."

"Ugh," Sybil exclaimed, dropping back onto the bed dramatically. "Why is this so impossible?"

Tom laughed at his wife's actions and leant over to kiss her cheek.

"We've got months before we need to make a decision yet, love," Tom said. "It's not like we have to make a decision tonight."

Tom nuzzled closer to Sybil and buried his chin in her neck.

"There are plenty of other things we could do tonight," he purred.

"Oh really?" Sybil murmured.

"Really," Tom growled.

He pulled her closer and laid a trail of kisses along her jaw.

The baby name talk was over for tonight, but sleep was a long way off yet. There were certain other activities which would fill their time this evening.

* * *

 _I hope you liked that addition to this story. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it._


	8. The Evening Apart

"I wish you were coming with me," Tom muttered as he tied a bow tie beneath his chin.

"As much as I love you Tom, I can't tell you how glad I am that I don't have to come with you," Sybil said with a small laugh as she lay in bed.

"I know," Tom smiled. "It's no more your cup of tea than it is mine."

Tom was going to a charity formal dinner organised by his office. He didn't want to go in the first place, but the prospect brightened when he had convinced Sybil to come as his plus one. However, she had recently fallen ill and was taking the time to rest as much as possible. Her throat felt incredibly scratchy and her voice was coming and going. Tom had spent days waiting on her hand and foot, providing her with hot drinks and copious amounts of love and moral support. Despite all this, she was not at all well enough to accompany him, so he was left to get ready alone as Sybil watched him from the bed.

She was sat under the duvet with pillows propping her up, her hands wrapped around a warm cup of herbal tea with additional honey, and a book resting on her lap.

"Try to enjoy yourself," Sybil squeaked, the sound not coming out of her mouth like it should.

"I will," Tom said. "But it won't be half as much fun without you beside me."

Sybil smiled.

Tom sat beside her on the edge of the bed and stroked her arm.

"These things are never as bad as you think they're going to be," Sybil encouraged.

"Even so," Tom said, "I'd rather I didn't have to go."

"I know, love," Sybil muttered.

Tom leant forward and kissed his wife gently.

"You ought to go," Sybil said, "or you'll be late."

"And what a shame that would be," Tom said sarcastically.

"Hey now!" Sybil reprimanded.

"I wish I could stay and look after you," he said, not moving from his spot beside Sybil.

"I'll be fine," Sybil said. "I've got a cup of tea, a book and a blanket. If I need you, I'll ring you. Now, go!"

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going," he said reluctantly, heaving himself up from the bed.

He leant down to give Sybil a kiss on the forehead before slipping on his shoes, reminding Sybil once again how much he loved her, and disappearing from the room.

Sybil heard the front door close and then Tom's car engine started. By the time he got back Sybil would likely be asleep. But for now, she picked up her book and took in the words on the pages, losing herself in the fictional world. The only thing that could have made the experience better would have been Tom's strong arm wrapped around her shoulders. But she couldn't always have everything, and she knew it.

* * *

 _I've not checked this through, so I hope there were no mistakes, but if there were any, they were entirely my fault. I hope you liked this little chapter. Please review if you did!_


	9. Studying

_I've not checked through this, so any mistakes are rightfully mine. This month's Rock the AU theme is school/university, so I thought that since I started university today, I would write a little something. Please leave a review if you like it._

* * *

Tom, sat at his desk in his and Sybil's bedroom, had been studying for a number of hours. It was mid-morning, about 10:30, and Tom had been up and working since before 9. He had always been an earlier riser than his girlfriend. He tended to make the most of the early mornings whilst Sybil made use of the late evenings. They were very different people, but they worked so well together.

Tom had recently got back into the swing of studying. Ever since senior school he had wanted to study history and politics at university. That was where his main interests were and he wanted to pursue this interest. Now he was finally getting the chance to.

As soon as he left school, he went straight into working. Aged 18, when most of his friends started travelling the world or starting university, he went to work at his brother's garage. His brother needed the help and Tom needed the money. He had worked with Kieran for over five years, and had been going out with Sybil for almost as long. Now that he was settled with Sybil, and he had enough money to spare (with some support from Sybil's nursing wages), he had decided to take the leap and start studying for a degree in history and politics.

He had entered university as a mature student and was, of course, living at home with Sybil, so he wasn't the typical student. But one thing that was typical about him was that he always seemed to be reading and researching and endlessly studying.

On this particular morning Tom was studying at his desk and Sybil was sleeping in the bed across the small room. Usually Tom's desk was in the spare-room-come-study next door, but they had been redecorating that room recently and they hadn't yet had a chance to move the desk back to its rightful place.

Tom took a deep breath and stood up to stretch his legs. He had been working for too long without a break and he was beginning to feel it. As he stood and walked a few paces away from his desk he saw Sybil lying in bed with her head propped up on her hand, looking at him.

"Mornin' love," Tom said, walking towards Sybil. "How long have you been awake? I thought you were asleep."

"I was," Sybil mumbled in a sleepy raspy voice. "I've only been awake for five minutes."

Tom sat on the edge of the bed and leant forward to kiss Sybil's temple. She leant into the kiss and hummed at Tom's closeness.

"You've been very quiet," Tom said.

"I like watching you work," Sybil said, pulling the duvet cover further up her body to ward off the cold air.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Tom asked.

"That's not fair," Sybil said. "You're working. I don't want to distract you."

"Just the thought of you distracts me," Tom said with a smirk.

Sybil smirked back at him as she rolled her eyes slightly. She'd been spending too much time with Mary.

"But really, it's alright," Tom said. "I need to stretch my legs. I was going to go and make myself one anyway."

Sybil yawned into the back of her hand.

"Keeping you up, am I?" Tom said, mock offended.

Sybil ignored his acting attempt and instead said, "I love you."

Tom leant to kiss her forehead. "I love you too."

"Can I have an extra sugar please," Sybil asked through a smile.

"Anything for you," Tom said before leaving the room to make said tea.

And he was telling the truth. He would go to the ends of the earth and back for Sybil. For her, he would do anything.


	10. Support

"What's wrong Syb?" Tom asked, staying close to her as they sat side by side in bed.

"Nothing," she replied, averting her gaze from his.

"Syb, love, you've barely spoken to me for days. Something's getting to you. I want to help. But I can't if I don't know what the problem is."

Tom leaned over and lifted Sybil's chin gently with his finger.

"Syb, I love you. The last thing I want is for you to be unhappy," he said. "Please let me help."

"I'm not unhappy, exactly," Sybil said. "I just feel unjustly guilty."

"Guilty? Guilty about what?" Tom asked.

Sybil turned to face her body to Tom more directly.

"Do you remember Lewis from Charlotte's wedding a few months ago?" Sybil asked.

Tom frowned, clearly not remembering. He had always been terrible with names.

"Really tall," Sybil said. "Dark hair, I think he was wearing a purple jacket that day –"

"Jawline that could cut glass?" Tom asked, thinking he remembered now.

"Yeah!" Sybil said. "Well, all week he's been hitting on me at work."

"Ooh, have I got competition?" Tom mocked.

"No, of course you haven't, don't be stupid," Sybil said, pushing him away playfully.

"What's wrong then? He likes you," Tom said. "Doesn't that make you feel loved?"

"It makes me feel weird," Sybil said. "He knows I'm married. He knows you and I are inseparable. I've asked him to stop saying things that make me uncomfortable, but he won't give it up."

"Have you told HR?" Tom asked, suddenly more serious.

"I don't trust them to take me seriously," Sybil said.

"Love, they're literally paid to take you seriously on these sorts of matters," Tom said. "You've got to tell them, honey. If he's making you uncomfortable you need to tell someone so that he can be told to stop it."

"I don't want to be a burden," Sybil said. "I don't want to create more work for people unnecessarily."

"I know, love, but in this case it is necessary. You've got a heart the size of a planet and you put everyone before yourself. You need to learn that sometimes you need to put you before everyone else. You need love too, you know."

"I've got love," she said. "I've got you, haven't I?"

"Always," Tom said, leaning in to kiss Sybil gently. "But I can't give you everything," he said.

Sybil looked down into her lap, admitting defeat, knowing full well that Tom was right.

"You are the most important woman in the world to me Sybil. You need to look after yourself."

"I know."

"Promise me that you'll go and talk to HR tomorrow?"

Sybil nodded. "Promise."

"Good," Tom said, wrapping his fingers round the back of Sybil's head and pulling it towards him so that he could kiss her forehead. "I love you. You deserve the best. You deserve to be treated right."

"I've got the best," Sybil said, smiling up at Tom. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"I learnt from the best," he said with a smirk.

He and Sybil were made for each other. They argued and they contradicted each other and they didn't always get on like perhaps a married couple is expected to, but nobody could deny that they were perfect for one another.

* * *

 _I was supposed to be doing work today. This is just about the only semi-productive thing I've managed to do all day. So I hope you enjoy it. That way, I suppose, I won't have wasted my entire day._


	11. Black Out

_The last chapter was only posted a month ago and here I am posting another instalment! What is happening? I just felt like writing something short and sweet. I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Sybil was lying restless in bed beside Tom. It was dark. The power was off. They were in the middle of a black out, and Sybil wanted to read. She hadn't had the energy or motivation to read anything for months, and now that she finally was ready to start a new book, she couldn't. She sighed.

"I could hold a light for you," Tom said. "My phone has a torch."

"I'm not going to make you hold a light just so I can read," Sybil said.

"You could hold your phone for yourself then. A torch in one hand, a book in the other. What's so hard about that?" Tom asked.

"No, that will just get annoying," Sybil said.

"You could listen to an audiobook," Tom said.

"I know, but I really want to read this book, and it's not been recorded on audio yet," she protested.

"Well, what about candlelight?" Tom said. "We've got candlesticks and holders. You could put one on your bedside table and read by candlelight. It would add a touch of romanticism to it."

"I'm not going to ruin my eyes by reading by candlelight. I'll just have to live without my book until tomorrow," she sighed. "The most irritating thing, actually, is that my phone is rapidly running out of battery and I can't charge it."

"First world problems," Tom said.

"I know. It's awful for me to complain about it, but it's such a big part of my life that I can't help it."

"Do you think the power will come back on tonight?" Tom asked, pulling Sybil closer to him beneath the covers.

"I bloody well hope so," she said. "But if it does, it won't be until after we're asleep, I reckon."

"Do you suppose we could think of a way to pass the time?" Tom asked, his voice deep and dripping with a thick Irish accent.

Sybil entirely missed this fact. "Sleep through it?" she suggested.

"Or…" Tom said, kissing Sybil's neck and tracing his fingers around the hem of her pyjama top. "Perhaps there are other ways to stay occupied."

"Mmm," Sybil said. "Now that you mention it…"


	12. Ill

_Two updates in two days... what is happening?! I hope you like this chapter though. I've not even read through it, so any mistakes are rightfully mine. The idea came to me and I couldn't resist writing it._

* * *

"Hey, love," Tom said, sitting on the side of the bed in his childhood bedroom in his mother's house. Sybil was tucked up beneath the duvet, feeling guilty that she and Tom had come all this way for a holiday and she had come down with something bad enough that she felt she couldn't join his large family for dinner. "Are you feeling any better?"

Sybil shook her head lightly. She reached out her hand and wrapped her fingers in his.

"I'm so sorry Tom," Sybil said.

"What for?" he said. "You can't help being ill, can you?" He stroked her hand to comfort her.

"I know," she mumbled. "But we've come all this way, and your whole family is here, and I've only met your mum and your brother."

"There'll be plenty of time to meet them in better circumstances, love," he said softly.

Sybil sighed.

"Are you hungry?" Tom asked.

Sybil shook her head.

"Well, dinner will be ready soon. I'll save some for you so that if you want any later, you can have it."

"Thank you," she smiled a weak smile.

"Okay," Tom said. "Well, how about you stay here, try to stay warm, read a book maybe, get some sleep."

Sybil nodded with a smile.

"I'll come up again and see how you're feeling after dinner."

"I love you," Sybil muttered.

"I love you too," Tom said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead before disappearing off downstairs.

Tom returned after nearly an hour, and Sybil was still awake.

"How are you feeling, love?" he asked, perching on the side of the bed as he had done before.

"Crap," she said bluntly.

"Eloquently put," Tom laughed. "Everyone said they hope you're feeling better soon."

Sybil smiled at that. "I wish I could meet them," she said.

"We're here for another week yet," Tom said. "With any luck you'll be feeling better by the weekend and we can organise an outing with everyone."

"I hope so. If the rest of your family is as lovely as you, I'd love to meet them."

"They're alright, but I wouldn't say they're quite as good as me," Tom said cockily, making Sybil laugh. "Did you manage to get any sleep?" he asked.

"No," Sybil said with a sigh. "I'm so used to sleeping next to you that I find it really hard to get any sleep when you're not lying next to me."

Tom smiled. "Why don't I come to bed then?"

"No, you can't!" Sybil said. "Everyone's downstairs. I thought you were going to watch a film? Don't bail out just because of me!"

"Sybil, no one will mind. They've spent all of dinner telling me to go and keep you company and asking why I was down there with them when I could have been up here with you," Tom explained. "I promise you they won't mind."

Sybil huffed. "I hate this. I wish I wasn't ill."

"You're a doctor, Syb. You know better than anyone that these things take time."

"I know."

"I'll go downstairs and make my excuses and I'll be back in a moment. I love you more than you know, Sybil." He leant forward and kissed her forehead as he rose from the bed.

Sybil watched him leave the room and marvelled at how lucky she was to have such a caring boyfriend.


	13. Newlyweds

_I can't explain it! I've just had a sudden urge to write over the last few weeks. This chapter is definitely T rated._

* * *

Sybil was lying in bed with Tom, wrapped around him, their arms and legs entwined, her tousled hair sprawled out over his chest, bare and exposed from the previous night's activities. They had only got married yesterday. They had spent the night at their own house in London, rather than in a hotel or leaving immediately for their honeymoon. They wanted to be in a bed they knew, in a house they were used to for their first night as a married couple. In a few days they would be leaving for their honeymoon in New Zealand, but right now, it was a Sunday morning and they were in bed together, being the madly in love couple they were destined to be.

Tom shifted in bed, trying not to wake Sybil.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sybil mumbled.

"I didn't think you were awake," Tom said, his accent thick and his voice raspy from not having spoken so far that morning.

"I'm not," Sybil muttered.

"I was just going to turn the heating up," he said, making moves to get out of bed again.

"No you're not," Sybil said, wrapping herself around Tom tighter and pulling him towards her.

"Syb, love, it's freezing," Tom protested.

"I'm not cold," she said, snuggling herself further against Tom's nude form.

"Only because you're stealing all of my heat," he said.

"I am not," Sybil said indignantly.

"You are too," Tom said.

"Fine," Sybil said, pushing herself up onto her elbow to look at Tom, making a point not to remove her legs from between around his.

Tom saw a thought come to her. Her eyes sparkled and her lips curled into a smirk – something she had picked up from spending too much time with Tom.

"What?" he said, sceptically, knowing his wife (God, it was strange and wonderful to think of her as his wife) only too well.

"Well," Sybil purred. "You could go and turn the heating up. Or… I could warm you up."

She fluttered her eyelashes at him lightly.

"Are you flirting with me?" Tom asked with a small laugh.

"Why shouldn't I?" Sybil asked. "It's not like it's illegal!"

"It's a good thing I married you," Tom said, taking Sybil's waist and pulling her on top of him. "Because I don't think I can possibly resist you."

Sybil laughed deep in her throat, stopped suddenly by a passionate kiss from the man she loved and intended to spend the rest of her life with. She knew that marriages weren't always smooth sailing, but she loved him and was more prepared than ever to sail the high seas with her lover.


	14. Snow Day

_It's been really snowy where I am at the moment, so I decided to channel it and write this little drabble between essay writing._

* * *

"It looks like the snow is finally melting," Tom said, absorbing the heat from the radiator as he peered through the curtains out into the road.

"Good," Sybil said from her spot in bed. "I need to be able to get into work tomorrow morning."

"You know, it's not the end of the world if you can't get in," Tom said, moving across the room to join Sybil under the warm duvet.

"I know," Sybil said, "but I think I should get in if I can. People don't stop needing medical help just because it starts snowing."

"If it's too dangerous to drive, you're not going anywhere," Tom said sternly, giving Sybil a kiss on the shoulder.

"If it's too dangerous to drive, I could walk," Sybil said.

"That will take you almost two hours. And black ice treats pedestrians the same way that it treats cars," Tom said.

"The weather forecast says it's supposed to stay warm enough that the snow will melt, but it won't then freeze," Sybil told Tom.

"Is it worth the risk though?"

"To save other people's lives, yes," Sybil said with a sideways smile towards Tom.

It was these sorts of small acts of selflessness that made Tom fall in love with Sybil in the first place.

"And anyway, if I can't drive and I can't walk, and the public transport is all cancelled, I could always ask your brother to give me a lift in his four by four," Sybil added.

"Or you could just stay here," Tom said, wrapping his arms around Sybil's torso and nuzzling into her neck. "I can think of a few ways to fill the day."

"Oh really?" Sybil said.

"Mmhmm," Tom hummed into Sybil's neck, sending shivers shooting down her spine.

"I appreciate the offer, but I think you're going to have to assume that I'm going in tomorrow, no matter what," Sybil said.

"You're too good for me," Tom said.

"I'm not arguing," Sybil said with a laugh as she let Tom take her. She would have to work tomorrow, but for now, she could be at one with her husband.


	15. Wedding Bells

Sybil stretched her body out across the bed, trying to wake herself up a little. Tom wasn't in bed beside her. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stared out of the window. It was a beautifully sunny day, which bode well for Sybil and Tom. Today was their wedding day.

"Mornin'," Tom said, coming into the room carrying two mugs of tea for them each. His Irish accent was thick and husky – one of the first things Sybil had noticed about her soon-to-be husband.

"Morning," Sybil hummed, unable to stop a smile from forming over her lips.

She sat up in bed and took one of the mugs from Tom, wrapping her fingers around the warm tea. Tom leant down to kiss her on the head before he sat on the edge of the bed.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Surprisingly well actually," Sybil said. "And there were no weird anxiety dreams or anything either."

"I'm glad."

"What about you? How was your night?" Sybil asked.

"I barely slept at all," he confessed.

"Oh no," Sybil said sympathetically. "How come?"

Tom shrugged slightly.

"You're not nervous are you?" Sybil asked.

"A little bit," Tom admitted.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm not going to be leaving you at the altar!" Sybil said with a small laugh. "I've wanted to marry you for so long, Tom. I'm not throwing away my chance now that we're so close."

"It's not that that's worrying me," Tom said. "I know I love you and I know you love me and I know that today will be our wedding night and we're going to spend the rest of our lives together."

"So why didn't you sleep? You know I love you, don't you?"

"Yes, I know that," Tom said, reaching across to take hold of Sybil hand. "I don't know why I'm nervous, but I am. I don't know… I'm just not used to having so many people stare at me whilst I declare my love to you."

"Then don't think about it," Sybil said, shifting in bed. She put her mug on her bedside table and took Tom's mug out of his hand to put it next to hers. "Come here," she said, moving her and Tom so that they were both sitting right in the middle of the bed, facing one another.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked.

"Just listen," Sybil said. "When we get married today, we are going to be standing in a room full of the people who love us most."

"That's not hugely comforting," Tom said.

Sybil placed one finger over his lips. "Just listen," she repeated. "We are going to be in a room full of people who love us dearly. But I promise you, when we're up there, when you are looking at me and when I am looking at you, you won't even think about them. You won't be able to think about anything other than us."

"How do you know that?" Tom asked.

"Have some faith," Sybil whispered, leaning closer to Tom and placing a full kiss on his lips. "You always tell me how important it is to believe in the impossible and to trust love."

Tom couldn't help but smile. Sybil was repeating his own words to him. He had comforted her endless times when she was feeling fragile with words of love.

"You always know how to make me feel better," Tom said.

"I learnt from the best," she said with a smile and a quick kiss. Today was her wedding day and nothing was going to stop her from loving her husband more today than she ever had before.

* * *

 _Should I have been writing an essay? Absolutely. Did I enjoy writing this though? Absolutely! Let me know in a review if you enjoyed it too :)_


	16. Morning Sunshine

Sybil stretched her toes down towards the end of the bed, finding the coolest parts of the sheets. She slowly opened her eyes to find that the warmth she was feeling was coming from the morning sun streaming through the windows, landing beautifully on her sleeping form. It was the one thing she had always wanted when she was growing up – a south facing room. Her childhood bedroom faced away from the sun, as did all of her rooms when she was living at university. But now that she was living with her boyfriend, Tom, she was able to choose whichever room she wanted. It wasn't actually the largest bedroom in the flat, but it was the south facing one, which was all she cared about.

Mornings like this, waking up to the sun shining on her, weren't common, but they were very much appreciated when they did come around.

As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she sat up in bed and saw Tom entering the room with two mugs of tea.

"Mornin'," he said in the strong, loving Irish accent that Sybil had fallen in love with so long ago.

"Morning," Sybil mumbled. "How come you're up so early?"

"It's ten o'clock, Syb," he said.

Sybil snapped her gaze from Tom to the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was incredibly rare for Sybil to sleep in so late, but she was having a week off work and had practically no plans for the week. Her only plan was to relax and not worry about anything.

"I've been for an hour-long run and had a shower and set off a load of washing already," he said, handing Sybil one of the mugs.

Sybil smiled at him as he sat on the edge of the bed and sipped his own tea.

"I don't deserve you," Sybil said.

"I don't know about that," Tom said. "I think we're pretty good together."

"We're great together," Sybil said with a small laugh. "Have we got a plan for today?"

"It's a gorgeous day," Tom said, "so I was thinking we could just go for a walk around the city and see where the day takes us."

"Sound perfect," Sybil said.

That was how Sybil and Tom's relationship had started. They had known each other as friends for a while, but their first date consisted of them walking around for hours, doing nothing but talking and getting to know each other better. For the two of them, walking and talking would always mean a lot. And today, just like every other day Sybil spent with Tom, she would fall more in love with him and she would become even more certain that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.


End file.
